(Posted Nov. 16, 2016)
By Sandi Latimer, Staff Writer
Madison-Plains Local Schools needs a new school board member now that long-time member David Hunter has been elected as a county commissioner.
Hunter’s term as commissioner begins Jan. 3. The board must appoint a successor to serve out the remainder of Hunter’s term, which expires on Dec. 31, 2017.
District residents interested in the seat are encouraged to submit letters of interest to Treasurer Todd Mustain by Dec. 12. They can be mailed to 55 Linson Road, London, OH 43140 or emailed to tmustain@mplsd.org. The letters will be forwarded on to the other four board members to study.
The board will conduct its annual organizational meeting on Jan. 13, at which time they will make the board seat appointment.
Also at the January meeting, the board will select a district representative to sit on the Tolles Career and Technical Center school board. Don Swonger currently holds that seat.
Child Care with Busing
Board members, by a 3-2 vote, gave Superintendent Tim Dettwiller permission to enter into an agreement with the Madison-Champaign Education Service Center to provide before- and after-school child care for the 2017-18 school year. Hunter and Bob Butz voted against the measure.
The one-year contract will be evaluated at the end of the school year to see if it should be renewed.
Child care has become a hot topic since the board approved a two-tier busing plan to start next school year. Students in grades 7-12 will be picked up first, then bus drivers will make a second trip to pick up the younger children.
The cost for the child care will depend on how many children are enrolled.
“If 40 children indicate they will attend, and then 10 drop out, who is responsible for the cost?” asked Butz. Dettwiller indicated that the district would be responsible.
Hunter has consistently voted against the busing plan and also on this proposal. Mark Mason voted for it only after he said he wanted to look at the agreement.
School improvements
Dettwiller said work continues in an attempt to save the district money. One example is the erection of a snow fence.
“It will cut down on the cost of snow removal,” he said. “Last year we had a lot of drifting.”
Another project to be completed soon is rearrangement of the hanging banners in the gym. The banners will be hung across from the bleachers, he said, adding that a banner is being made for cheerleading.
Recognition
Kim LeGault, principal at the elemen-tary and intermediate schools, shared some good news. She learned just before the meeting that, for the second year in a row, the elementary students won the Wishing Well Award for collecting the most pennies for Madison County food pantries.
Last year, the students won by collecting $416.19.
“We set a goal of $500 for this year,” she said. “We collected $721.53 and that translates into more than 9,000 pounds of food.”
LeGault also reported that local veterans and active military members visited students as part of Veterans Day observances.
Matt Unger, principal at the high school and junior high school, announced the October students of the month: Caleb Dennison, seventh grade; Nathan Adams, eighth grade; Addison Tesi, ninth grade; Jacob Alkire, 10th grade; Lilly Virjee, 11th grade; and Theran Hatfield, 12th grade.
At the end of the 90-minute meeting, board members went into an executive session to discuss personnel matters. The board’s next meeting is on Dec. 13.
